This invention relates to adaptors for attachment of windscreen wiper blades to wiper arms and in particular to adaptors which allow side-mounting blades to be used with wiper arms of the "shepherd's crook" kind.
Such an arm has an outer portion formed of bar and comprising, in succession, a straight main part, a part curved into semicircular shape, and a short straight terminal part, parallel to and spaced from a lower face of the main part. A known type of sidemounting wiper blade includes a circumferentially grooved mounting pin, extending from a side of the blade, and lying in use approximately parallel to the windscreen being wiped.
"Shepherd's crook" arms are widely in use on existing cars, in conjunction with the wiper blades which are not of the sidemounting kind. It is advantageous to a user of such a car to be able to replace an existing wiper blade by a side-mounting blade, because it is recognized that a side-mounting blade gives a superior performance as compared with older kinds of blades. However, present blades for "shepherd's crook" arms are equipped with a special arm to blade connector for retaining the blade on a "shepherd's crook" arm. These connectors are mounted in a straddling relationship to the harness and extend above the harness's silhouette. Side mounting blades carrying a grooved pin are accomodated by special arms which carry a receptor for the pin. Thus at present there is no interchangeability or compatibility between "shepherd's crook" arms and side mounting blades. It has not been possible for a car equipped with a "shepherd's crook" arm to obtain the advantages achieved in side mounting as for example a low silhouette arrangement which is more resistant to windlift among other advantages.
The unique adaptor of the present invention provides for use of a blade with a grooved pin type connector which can be side mounted on a "shepherd's crook" type arm which includes a latching element on the terminal part. This is achieved by an adaptor which comprises a body including a web with a flat upper surface terminating in a semi-cylindrical end portion depending therefrom; the semi-cylindrical end portion merges into a flat lower surface. The semi-cylindrical end portion is formed of collar-like portions which are spaced apart to accomodate one end of a resilient latch member therebetween. The web and cylindrical end portion have outwardly extending flanges in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the web portion at each longitudinal edge. The flanges extend radially outward from the cylindrical end portion. A bore extends transversely through the flanges and the cylindrical end portions to accomodate the grooved pin of the side mounting blade. The one end portion of the resilient latch intersects the bore to engage the groove of the pin on the wiper blade to retain it in assembled condition. Adjacent the other end of the latch member is an element which cooperates with the latching member on theterminal part of the "shepherd's crook" arm. The straight main part of the arm is accomodated between the flanges and against the flat upper surface of the web of the adaptor. The curved part is accomodated by the semi-cylindrical portion of the adaptor and the terminal part by the underlying straight portion thereof. The latch element adjacent the other end of the resilient latch member engages the latching element in the terminal part of the arm to retain the adaptor in assembled condition to the arm.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an adaptor for a windscreen wiper assembly which permits the use of a side mounting blade with a "shepherd's crook" arm.
It is another object of the invention to provide an adaptor for a windscreen wiper assembly which is simple and readily useable without tools and which provides for use of a side mounting wiper blade with a "shepherd's crook" arm and which renders the blade readily removable and replaceable.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.